The spaghetti bowl phenomenon expected from the proliferating East Asian regional trade agreements (RTAs) is worrisome. In particular, the complicated web of hub-and-spoke type of overlapping free trade agreements (FTAs) can result in high costs for verifying rules of origin (RoO). As an...

The Computable General Equilibrium model, based on the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model, is used to evaluate the impact of separate bilateral free trade agreements by Colombia, Ecuador and Peru with the United States of America (USA). As the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication...

Egypt needs to diversify exports further in order to emerge from its isolation and to draw the maximum advantage from the growth potential offered by trade globalization. To what extent does the bilateral free trade agreement with the European Union encourage the transition from a rentier...

I study whether and how US shocks are transmitted to eight Latin American countries. US shocks are identified using the procedure of Canova and De Nicolo’ (2002) and treated as exogenous with respect to Latin American economies. Posterior estimates for individual and average effects are...

This paper examines the question of which shock generates cyclical movements in output and inflation using an alternative approach. We find that in the G-7 countries output cycles are driven by different structural disturbances, that monetary disturbances play a significant role in at least four...

The first generation of genetically modified crop varieties, currently most widespread in the maize and soybean sectors, sought to increase farmer profitability by improving agronomic traits. The next generation of biotech research is focusing also on breeding for attributes desired by...

This paper examines whether, in the presence of trade preferences, Sub-Saharan African economies, and especially its poorest households, could gain from multilateral trade reform. The World Bank’s LINKAGE model of the global economy is employed to examine the impact first of current trade...

We evaluate potential costs and benefits of Eastern enlargement of the EU. In addressing fiscal costs of enlargement in addition to tariff and non-tariff barriers, we arrive at important conclusions: 1) Overall, extending EU membership to Eastern applicants is more than worth its price to...

The Uruguay Round was the most ambitious round of GATT negotiations ever undertaken. This paper offers an evaluation of possible effects of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round with a special focus on Canada. Our two main findings can be summarized as follows: (1)First, the estimated impacts of...

The main objective of this paper is to show how Social Accounting Matrices (SAM) and Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) Models can be used to highlight and address issues related to income distribution and poverty. The paper is divided into two major parts. Part 1 presents the concept of the...